Tuesday, February 24, 2015

2 months in.

We are two months in the new year and I am so shocked at how fast time goes by. Do you remember when you were young and you couldn't wait for Friday? Now I see Friday come and Friday go and wonder what else I'm missing out on. I have learned though life ins't about missing things, but truly about taking the time. Taking the time to spend with Daniel even if it is just sitting down together and working on our taxes. So many times I am in this mood of go.go.go. when all he needs is for me to just sit and be. My sister Thelma loved to just be. She disliked me being on my phone and wanted my attention to be present with her. Every time I listen to Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars" I think of her. From living out of state and wishing I could be with her and and now living with out I wish I could just stop and cuddle with her. Talk or not talk, just lay there holding hands. Man, how I miss her.

So, instead of letting my tears get the best of me I decided to let you all know of something that Daniel and I are continuing to do. As I was born and raised in Mexico the dollar has always been more powerful than the peso. I remember when it was 3 to 1 and then the devaluation of the peso happened changing it to 10 to 1. So many Mexicans lost a lot of money and life definitely was different. Instead of having to pay 3000 pesos for a bag of chips it went down to 3 pesos! The reason behind me sharing this is because last fall when we were fundraising I had the clever idea to see how much the adoption was going to cost in pesos. Total sum from today's exchange: MXN $430,428.15. Yes, you read that right over $430 thousand pesos!!!! My heart sank when I realized how much money that was and how many lives could be impacted. I wanted to cry thinking that by us adopting we would be able to love 1 child while that $430k could be used to love others… It's sobering to put dollars into another currency and to realize the impact that our money can make in another country.

I called my mom and told her the amount and first thing she said was, "There must be something wrong. The agency must be stealing from you." I went on and explained that no, they weren't that those were the expenses for an adoption through an agency here and that I was just sharing with her because it had shocked me so much. I came home and talked to Daniel and told him how my heart was so heavy at the realization of the cost in pesos. So here is where the really cool part is about all of this. How a simple question could start a snowball of thoughts and ideas. Since we had reached our goal we stopped fundraising and any money that was still coming through our Amazon affiliate account was going to be saved for our next adoption we decided to change gears and that any money coming from our Amazon affiliate account will be donated directly to Esperanza Viva. It is the local orphanage from my home town in Puebla, Mexico. My family became involved with EV when we would take car loads of vegetables from the farm for the kids. Then my older sister started a program called, "Aver School" to teach kids photography, video and editing to teach them a vocation. They have changed the lives of so many people and I have seen first hand how they have flourished into providing homes, school, even vocations in a loving, Godly environment.

If you don't think that you have money, or if you don't think that you would be able to adopt I encourage you to get plugged in with an orphanage or a program in your city that works with foster kids. Psalm 82:3 says: Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Perhaps you feel weak a lot of the time, you can channel your weakness into loving those who are weaker than you. "Defend the underdog" is what my Dad told me. So here we are excited that soon we will be parents and excited that we can continue fundraising for other children. And I tried to figure out how to explain how the Amazon affiliate account works I decided to copy the words directly from my dear friend, Lindsey from www.managingtheeverday.com:

"The Amazon affiliate program is a tool that many bloggers, schools and other groups use to raise funds and generate revenue.

It works like this:

Click on their link (HERE). It will take you to the main Amazon.com website.

Shop as usual. Everything – website, prices, selection, service – is the same.

Buy something.

Liza & Daniel will receive a small commission for referring you
to Amazon.com. All funds will go towards their adoption costs" (THIS WILL NOW GO TO ESPERANZA VIVA.

And so I close this very lengthy post. Thank you for doing life with us!!!